Highlights of Spain and Portugal 10 Days

Relax and explore with two nights in Lisbon, including a half-day guided city tour

Take a city tour of Madrid, and visit the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas bullring

Take a ride on the world’s oldest cable car to go up to the Santuário do Bom Jesus

The Kingdoms of Leon, Castile, Aragon and Navarre took seven centuries to overturn Islamic rule, and in 1491 the Catholic Monarchs of northern Iberia, Ferdinand and Isabella, were able to claim the 'Reconquest' of the entire peninsula. The following year, Christopher Columbus got lost while looking for Japan, and discovered the Americas.

Spain and Portugal expanded into the world's first global empires. Navigation, trade, and bold combat expanded their power and wealth over centuries. Both ruled territories in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. The gold of West Africa, the silver of South America, and a global trade in slaves drove ambitious architectural works at home and abroad. Potatoes, sugar, corn, coffee, and spices transformed both the European diet and international trade. After a decline in power through ongoing European wars, the rise of the Ottoman Turks, cruel civil wars and decades of authoritarian rule, Spain and Portugal have emerged as stable and democratic nations with a cosmopolitan outlook and proud history.

Departure Dates

Inclusions:

Return economy class international airfares and taxes flying Etihad or a European Airline (subject to availability), departing Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. Please Note: Flight itineraries are not available until approximately 2 weeks before departure. Some flights may depart one day later and may involve up to 2 transits per leg

7 nights accommodation in comfortable hotels in twin rooms with private facilities. Please Note: Hotels will vary depending on group size and hence hotel information can only be ascertained within 5-7 days prior to departure. Double rooms and Triple share are not guaranteed and are subject to availability

All prices, itineraries, airlines, hotels and cruise ships are subject to availability and change without prior notice. Nexus Holidays reserves the right to provide substitutes of similar standard and adjust the itinerary as we see fit to ensure the smooth running of the tour. Passengers must remain with the tour group at all times and must not deviate from the set itinerary. The total length of the tour in days includes time spent in flight and is subject to change depending on the flight schedule, please refer to the day by day itinerary for the time spent on land. Please check all information before booking. By booking, you accept all Booking Conditions.

Optional Attractions and Activities Optional Extension

Madrid

Flamenco Night with Dinner: At the end of the day, we offer you the feeling and the flamenco. Singers attending one of the most attractive shows that you can see in Spain. Do not miss the opportunity to assist with great expectation how they capture your attention. A flamenco picture composed of singers, dancers, guitarists and percussionists who make a wonderful journey through the different flamenco styles: bulerías, seguidillas, fandangos, alegrías and sevillanas. All accompanied by a delicate dinner with Spanish products in an incomparable setting.

PRICE: EUR60pp. Minimum participants: 10 persons. DURATION: 2h. Includes: Transfers with the roundtrip coach. Assistance by our mail guide. Entrance to the show. Dinner including three courses with water and wine

Lisbon

Sintra Cascasis and Estoril: In this visit, you will enjoy the landscapes of the Tagus estuary, the famous Costa del Sol, a resting place and residence of nobles in the history of Portugal. We will stop at the wonderful city of Sintra, immortalised by Lord Byron, and enjoy its microclimate and its many palaces and summer homes. We will continue to the famous Guincho beach where you will see the westernmost point in Europe, the Cabo da Roca, and we will stop in the beautiful city of Cascais. Afterwards, we will have a brief stop in Estoril with its famous casino. A varied tour with beautiful landscapes overlooking the ocean and the Tagus estuary.

Insurance Optional Extension

Basic insurance cover is provided for our clients during the land component of this tour only. The policy comes into effect on arrival at the destination and commencement of the tour proper. Consequently, it does not include incidents during flights, cruises, or early arrivals or stay-behinds.

Guarantees:

Medical expenses: €3,000*

Dentistry expenses: €60

Extended hospitalisation due to illness or accident: €80/day. Max. 10 Days

Transfer of sick or wounded persons: Unlimited

Transfer of mortal remains: Unlimited

Return of accompanying insured persons: Unlimited

Sending of medicines abroad: Included

Travel of one person to accompany the hospitalised insured person: Unlimited

Accommodation and allowances for the person accompanying the hospitalised insured person: €80/day. Max. 10 Days

Return of the insured person in the event of the death of a realtive: Unlimited

This insurance has limited cover and does not include impolrtant elements such as electronic equipment, loss, theft, breakage or minor damage (handles/scratches/wheels) to luggage, cash, jewels or valuable goods, eve if they are in hotel rooms/ship cabins. If your luggage is worth more than the insurance cover, we suggest you declare it before starting the tour and take out extra insurance that provides additional cover.

Nexus Holidays declines all responsibility in cases in which the insurance company considers that the policy does not cover the expenses claimed by the passenger, regardless of the reasons.

Nexus Holidays advises all clients to take out additional insurance with additional cover to that stated above.

Hotel AccommodationOptional Extension

The hotels we use are carefully selected to provide you with a comfortable stay in a relaxing environment. All the hotels we use ont his tour are four-star rated or better, with continental breakfast included. A selection of our preferred hotels in our main destinations is listed below. As the hotels are generally not in the downtown area, we cannot guarantee that there is transportation to the city except for taxis. Please note that hotels will vary depending on group sizes and hence hotel information can only be ascertained within 24 hours prior to check-in.

Welcome to Madrid! Upon arrival at the airport,our driver will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.Towards the end of the day, we provide evening transfers to the Egyptian Debod temple, Plaza de Es­paña and Gran Via; a vibrant district where you can dine at your preferred restaurant: Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options.

Note: Please check the informative panels in the hotel reception area for the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers to receive information about the circuit.

The day starts a comprehensive tour of Madrid including Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Gran Via, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. Visit Retiro Park, an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. Admission to Las Ventas Bullring is included. This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world, where we will learn about the tradition of corridas in the Bullfighting Museum. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon free at leisure. At sunset, transfer to Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants in which to enjoy a pleasant dinner.

We leave Madrid and travel towards the Extremadura region. In Caceres you can have lunch and stroll in the historic centre, one of the best-preserved Medieval and Renaissance open complexes in the world. Once in Portugal, we will stop in Evora, a World Heritage city with its white streets, Renaissance palaces, and cathedral. We will include entry to the impressive Chapel of Bones, built using 5,000 skeletons! Arrive in Lisbon in late afternoon.

This morning we take a sightseeing tour of Lisbon. We visit traditional neighbourhoods, and take in the Belem district, closely associated with great Portuguese navigators of the fifteenth century (and resting place of the renowned explorer-pirate, Vasco da Gama). Look around the Monument to the Discoveries. Erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, the monument is sculpted in the form of a ship’s prow, with dozens of figures from Portuguese history. View Belem Tower, a military outpost built to protect the Tagus Estuary from pirates and enemy attacks, and enter the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is where Vasco da Gama and his men spent the night in prayer before departing towards the Orient in 1497. In the Belem neighbourhood, we invite our travellers to try a ‘Belem cake’, an exquisite local delicacy otherwise known as a Portuguese egg tart. The afternoon is free at leisure, so that you can explore this great city independently. In the evening, transfer to Restauradores Square, full of atmosphere with its bars and cafes from where we suggest you to take the Elevador da Gloria that brings you to the Upper District and its stunning view of the city.

We travel to the north of Portugal and visit Fatima, an important sanctuary. We will continue on our way through Porto, Portugal’s second largest city. Time for lunch and sightseeing tour of this city on the bank of Duero River and its historic centre included. We also include a visit to the city’s famed old cellars, then enjoy free time at leisure.

On this day we will travel through beautiful landscapes. In the city of Braga we will get on the world’s oldest cable car to go up to the Santuário do Bom Jesus, where we will enjoy its gorgeous views. We recommend trekking back down in order to admire its beautiful stairway. We will resume our trip to Galicia. We will visit the historic town of Cambados in Rías Baixas. We include a glass bottom boat trip where we will learn about the production of mussels and oysters. Wine and mussel tasting included. We will arrive in Santiago De Compostela, a famous pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages, at lunchtime. An afternoon tour of this town with a local guide is included.

We will travel along Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to Castile. We will take some time in Lugo to visit its historic centre and Roman walls which ware a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will make a stop on route in O Cebreiro, a small Galician stone village. Arrival in Leon at lunchtime. We will have time visit the Gothic cathedral with its stained glass windows and stroll through the historic centre. At around 5pm, we leave León for Madrid, arriving at around 9pm.